Privacy and cookies

Player Overview

The Public-i Connect Player

The Public-i Connect Player enables viewers to navigate through live and archived webcasts using index points and access supporting information in the form of web links, documents and presentations whilst watching the webcast.

Viewers may also leave feedback using the feedback form or fill out polls and surveys where available via the Player and access information about individual participants in the webcast. The Player displays in either the graphic rich compact version or a fully accessible text only version.

To watch a webcast click on the title of the webcast in webcast overview or library; this will launch the Public-i Player in a separate browser window. The webcast will start automatically - this may take a few seconds.

Live webcasts display only the information being sent out during the webcast, and it is not possible to skip backwards to an earlier part of a meeting when it is being streamed live.

Archived webcasts enable the viewer to navigate to any point of the webcast using index points or the scroll bar displayed below the video window. Information regarding the individuals who participated during the meeting (speaker profiles) are only displayed for archived webcasts.

There are two main ways in which a viewer can skip to a different part of a webcast. The scroll bar displayed beneath the video can be used to fast forward or rewind to a particular time in the webcast.

More usefully most webcasts are captured with agenda point and / or speaker name index points which enable the viewer to jump directly to a point or person in a webcast of particular interest to them.

Any feedback given in the Feedback Form is sent directly to the organisation providing the webcast from where it will be forwarded to the appropriate person to deal with the enquiry. Public-i monitor feedback for technical issues.

Entire Agenda Points or items within them can be shared by using the share button. Choosing to share an Agenda Point will automatically set the video start point accordingly. It's possible to override and amend this if required.

To download a meeting, click the download icon, located on the video’s control bar. Alternatively, right click on the video and select the ‘download’ option from the list. You will be re-directed to a new page, where you can right click the video and complete your download.

If there are any agenda items which have particular geographical location associated with it, then a small globe icon will appear next to the item which when clicked will appear on a map displayed in the Public-i Player to the right of the video window.

If a webcast has a Live Chat tab showing, then the webcast either offers a live chat facility and/or a Twitter stream.

Through the Live Chat (offered through CoveritLive.com) any viewer can send comments to the authority while the webcast is live. Comments which are appropriate to the discussion as deemed relevant by the authorities moderation policy will be published as soon as possible.

Authorities can also answer back in private if the comment is a private request for information.

The Twitter box will show a stream of the tweets for the particular hashtag the authority has chosen to use during that webcast. If there is a login box next to the Twitter box, then a user can login and tweet directly from the box.

If a webcast has a discussion forum associated to it, then the Forum tab will appear with the choice of two forums: a standard moderated discussion forum supplied by Disqus, users can enter comments which will be passed through to the administrators to approve.

UserVoice is an agenda setting forum to invite ideas for discussion. UserVoice also allows other users to vote and comment on any suggestions.

To keep updated of upcoming webcasts or even subscribe to webcasts about certain topics, viewers can subscribe to the Connect RSS feed. Click on the RSS Icon on the webcast overview and listings allows to be taken to a page where RSS feed links can be generated, copied and pasted into any RSS reader.

The tag cloud shows the tags assigned to any webcast, with the most popular tags appearing proportionally larger. Clicking on any of tag will filter the webcast listing according to these tags. To remove the filter, click the 'Remove Filter' link at top of the page.

Troubleshooting FAQ

Why can't I hear the webcast?

The most common reason for a lack of audio on a webcast is that the person speaking has not turned on their microphone. Otherwise it is important to make sure that the computer that you are using has a means of conveying sound from the sound card through either speakers or headphones. The volume of the webcast can be turned up via the volume control built into the player which is displayed beneath the video, and the user experiencing problems should make sure that this is turned up and not muted. Finally the settings on the computer should be checked to ensure that the volume is turned up on both the computer and speakers. Due to the audio systems used by many of our clients the audio may be a little quieter than the viewer expects.

- Attempting to view within a corporate network which blocks streaming video (please see the help section on viewing from within a corporate network).- The webcast which is being accessed is not yet available.- There could be a problem with the webcast stream.

This is normally caused by a slow internet connection. Although Public-i webcasts have been encoded to enable them to be viewed by users of any speed of internet connection, some buffering is to be expected when watching video using a slow connection. To minimise the problem close any other applications which may be using the internet connection.

Webcasts have been encoded to be viewed with any speed of internet connection, however, buffering is frequently caused by a slow internet connection. Those using ADSL connections may also experience some buffering, as all ADSL lines are shared across multiple users. This means connection speeds drop at busy times. To minimise the problem close, any other application which may be using the internet connection.

The size of the video window in the Player has been selected to provide the optimum balance between ease of use and picture quality. The video can be put into full-screen mode, either by selecting the enlarge icon or pressing the 'f' key.

If you are viewing from within a corporate network it is possible that your computer has not been set up to permit the viewing of webcasts. Please contact your network administrator if you experience any difficulties.

Privacy and cookies

We are using cookies

When you visit this Citizenscape we use a tool, called website 'cookies' to help us find out limited information about how our website is being used.

These 'cookies' are small files that are sent to your browser and held there, usually for a limited time, to help us collect that information. British law demands that we explain what cookies we use and offer you the option of rejecting them in order for you to make informed choices about your online privacy. While we provide information on our website about the cookies we use, we assume that by reading this and continuing to accept cookies, you have provided consent

By looking in your browser settings you'll be able to find the cookies that we're using - which is explained in the second section of this policy.

What cookies we use

Session cookie

This cookie's technical name is "PHPSESSID". We use this cookie to make sure we can distribute the use of our website evenly. When you visit the website, it assigns your browser to a particular server. The cookie expires after one day.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a service that provides Public-i with data that we use to monitor the performance of our website. It allows us to collect anonymised information on the users of our website that includes simple information about where users are, what where they arrived at our website from and how long they spent on the site and what pages they visited. Google Analytics uses a number of cookies. They are:

"__utma"

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RPX

We use a service called RPX to enable users to log into the site using the social-media identities - and this uses two cookies as part of that process.

Third-party widgets

Many of the widgets that are incorporated into Citizenscape are ‘third-party’ in that the content they containg comes from somewhere else. These include:-

Twitter

User Voice

Cover it Live

Disqus

Where there are third-party widgets, these will often use cookies you should look at the service provider’s terms and conditions to find out more about the cookies that they use.

How to disable cookies

All web browsers allow you to look at and set whether or not you accept cookies - and you'll usually be able to find these options within the browser's settings.

Rather than provide instructions - which may change as browsers are updated - please consult your browser's help section and look for privacy and 'disabling cookies'.